6 h 54 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a street becomes territory, loyalty has a price, and violence becomes a trade?
In The Apaches of New York, Alfred Henry Lewis takes you into the criminal underworld of the early twentieth-century city. These sketches move through tenements, saloons and crowded blocks, among young toughs, gunmen and gang leaders. Work is scarce, hope is thin, and standing on the street can depend on a willingness to hurt others.
Lewis brings a lawyer's knowledge of police courts and a newspaper writer's eye to this world. His sketches explore the streets that breed gangs, the rules of paid violence, and the politics and police that give criminals cover. He argues that the underworld depends on the upper world, drawing attention to the quiet bargains behind the visible threats.
What you’ll discover
- Crowded streets, narrow chances Enter the tenements, saloons and crowded blocks where Lewis traces the roots of gang life.
- The gunman's trade Meet men who use violence for money, pride, or a stronger place among their peers.
- Loyalty with a price Explore gang codes and the bought loyalties that help turn a street into territory.
- Power behind the gangs Follow Lewis's account of the political and police protection that helps the underworld survive.
- A reporter's sharp eye Feel the quick, vivid manner of a writer steeped in city politics and crime.
Who will love it
For readers who love American urban history, true crime and period journalism, and anyone curious about how city gangs and politics fed each other.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The gangs grew from crowded streets
- Violence was a trade with its own rules
- Politics and police gave the gangs cover
- A reporter's voice shapes the portrait
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Les Apaches de New York
by Alfred Henry Lewis · 1912
In New York's crowded streets, gunmen and gang chiefs trade in violence while political fixers protect them.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Apaches of New York is a set of sketches about the criminal underworld of New York City in the early twentieth century. It was written by Alfred Henry Lewis, a lawyer turned newspaper writer who knew the city's politics and its police courts.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The gangs grew from crowded streets
Lewis begins with the ground the gangs grew from. New York in his day was a city of tenements, saloons and crowded blocks, where thousands of young men had little work and less hope. In such streets a boy learned early that the strong took what they wanted. A gang offered him company, a name and a place to stand.
The author treats the gang as a kind of small government. Each crew held a district and defended it against rivals. Its leader gave orders, settled quarrels among his men and expected loyalty in return. Lewis shows that these were not random mobs. They had rank, habits and a rough sense of honor among themselves.
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What is The Apaches of New York about?
It is a set of sketches of the New York underworld in the early twentieth century. Lewis describes gang leaders, gunmen and street toughs, and shows how politics and police protection helped the gangs thrive.
Why are they called Apaches?
The name was borrowed from the street gangs of Paris, who were called apaches in the press. Lewis used it for New York's young criminals. The Paris name itself came from the Apache people, but this book is not about Native Americans.
Is The Apaches of New York a true story?
It is a work of journalism and sketch writing about real conditions in the city's underworld. Lewis wrote from experience as a reporter, but his style is vivid and opinionated, so treat details with care.
The author
Alfred Henry Lewis
1855–1914 · American journalist and novelist
American investigative journalist, lawyer, author, and editor.
More by Alfred Henry Lewis
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